Colleagues

I haven't written a lot about my colleagues here in Latvia. Mostly it's because the term here has been a very trying one, and we have had literally no time for any socializing. My first connection to the department, Sandra Meškova, was on sabbatical this term, so that we didn't see much of her while she worked on a book, and that's exactly as it should be -- this is what sabbaticals are for. The faculty member that I was working closely with, Irina Presņakova, took ill the first week of term, and I eventually took over most of her classes when she was unable to return to teaching at all for the whole term. Two other faculty members were out on maternity leave this term as well, and that left the department operating a full roster of courses with only 50% of its usual teaching faculty. How my colleagues got through it all is beyond me, though they did. It's worth noting that the requirements of the Latvian Ministry of Education stipulate that my Latvian colleagues have more than double the contact hours with students per week that I have with my students in my home institution. Latvian faculty are seriously overworked.

They kept apologizing throughout the term that they simply didn't have time to sit down and socialize with me, and I understood completely. Add the factors mentioned above with those connected to their own personal lives involving parents, children, and spouses, and you can imagine how overwhelmed they must have been. However, when the exams we over and graduation celebrations done, I got a note from Ilze to meet her in the department office if I were available. When I got there, there was a pleasant surprise party in place in anticipation of my departure, and we all got to sit down -- finally -- and actually chat about the term and ourselves. Of course, we've been chatting in the English Philology department offices all term, but this time we could actually relax and not end conversations in mid-sentence so that we could rush off to a class.

As is usual, the food and drink was ample. In particular, there was a great deal of blood orange juice and two bottles of champagne, so we could drink the champagne straight up or make mimosas. I was presented with a small present, and a very cool one at that: a set of handmade and hand-fired dominoes that are inscribed with traditional Latvian patterns. And then we ate chocolate and assorted nibbles and drank toasts to a successful term.

I could not have asked for better colleagues. Mostly they got out of my way, which was a great virtue this term. Taking over Irina's classes meant that I needed the space to do whatever I do to make the courses mine, and they were more than happy to give me that space. In fact, I was praised for my flexibility this term. It cannot have been easy for them to integrate an American into the Latvian system when they were so harried with their own work, so giving me plenty of leeway to do my work in my way was the best situation for all concerned. We left the party with that pleasant glow that one gets after drinking a lot of mimosas in the middle of the afternoon and with promises to set up some kind of exchange program so that we can continue our professional and personal relationships. Here they are. Left to right, Inesa Antonova, Jeļena Semeneca, me, Ilze Oļehnoviča, and Solveiga Liepa. What a wonderful group of educators. And, as goes without saying, what a wonderful group of Latvians.